The House of Representatives Committee on Finance on Tuesday demanded a comprehensive breakdown of the estimated ₦34 trillion worth of import duty waivers granted in 2025, directing the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to disclose the beneficiaries, legal basis and objectives of the concessions as part of efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Federal Government’s fiscal incentives.

The committee also faulted the Service over what it described as inconsistencies in its revenue reporting, insisting that the agency must explain how it generated collections above its approved revenue targets and reconcile apparent disparities in its monthly financial records.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, gave the directive when the management of the Nigeria Customs Service appeared before the panel during the National Assembly’s ongoing revenue monitoring and oversight exercise.

Faleke said the committee was not opposed to the government’s waiver policy, noting that such incentives remained legitimate tools for stimulating economic growth and supporting key sectors. He, however, maintained that lawmakers had a constitutional duty to ensure that the concessions were granted transparently and achieved their intended objectives.

According to him, the committee wants to know who benefited from the waivers, the legal authority under which they were approved and whether they translated into measurable gains for the economy.
“Waiver is good. It is not a bad thing to grant waiver. But we want to know those who benefited from the waiver and the purpose for such waiver. It is okay if you grant waiver on medical and agricultural products.

“If you grant waiver, it is aimed at helping the economy to grow. For example, if you grant waiver on agricultural products, it is aimed at reducing the cost of food. So, we are not against waiver. But we want to know the beneficiaries of this ₦34 trillion waiver,” Faleke said.

The committee equally queried the Customs Service over its revenue presentation, arguing that while the agency had consistently exceeded its annual targets, the documents submitted to lawmakers did not clearly explain the sources of the additional revenue.

Faleke said proper financial accountability required Customs to provide a detailed month-by-month analysis showing why revenue collections fluctuated and how the excess earnings were realised.

“We are not going to applaud your efforts now because your account books are not balanced. We know that you want to be transparent, but you have not told us how the excess money you are reporting came about.

“I can see that in some months, you under-declare your revenue collection and in other months, you overshoot the collection. We want to know what is responsible for this. You have to provide these little details that will help us properly assess your performance,” he added.

Deputy Chairman of the committee, Hon. Saidu Mohammed Abdullahi, said the Federal Government should consider raising the revenue targets assigned to the Nigeria Customs Service, arguing that its consistent overperformance showed the agency possessed greater revenue-generating capacity than currently projected.

According to him, Customs generated ₦6.1 trillion against a target of ₦5 trillion in 2024 and realised about ₦7.2 trillion in 2025 against a target of approximately ₦6 trillion.

“I personally believe that they can do more than the target we give to them.
“I think we are not pushing them enough. That is why they will always come up with excesses. In 2024, you were given a target of ₦5 trillion and you generated ₦6.1 trillion. In 2025, you were given a target of about ₦6 trillion and you generated ₦7.2 trillion. I believe that if we push you enough, you can do better,” he said.

Responding on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, clarified that the Nigeria Customs Service does not approve import duty waivers.

She explained that approvals are granted by the Federal Ministry of Finance in accordance with existing laws and government policy, while the Customs Service merely implements the approvals.

Adeola also advocated greater investment in inland dry ports by state governments, describing them as strategic infrastructure capable of reducing congestion at the nation’s seaports, accelerating cargo clearance and promoting trade across the country.

“I will encourage all state governments to invest in inland dry ports. That will have a lot of impact on our operations. Any cargo that is marked for such inland port will not be delayed at the main port.
“The container will be transported directly to the inland port where it will be examined. That will reduce the pressure at the nation’s ports and increase trade facilitation in the states,” she said.

On concerns over delays in cargo clearance, Adeola informed the committee that most Customs scanners were operational, with only a few undergoing repairs.

However, a member of the committee, Hon. Ifeanyi Uzokwe, urged the Customs management to hold officers accountable whenever negligence contributed to the malfunction of scanners or avoidable operational delays.

The committee also turned its attention to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), directing the agency to submit detailed records of all companies and businesses registered in Nigeria, including the registration fees paid by each entity.

Lawmakers further queried the Commission over its failure to submit audited financial statements to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) as required by law since 2019 and ordered it to reconcile its records with the commission without delay.

A representative of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission told lawmakers that the Corporate Affairs Commission owed the Federal Government ₦13.9 billion in unremitted operating surplus accumulated over several years.

Responding, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission disclosed that the agency had already commenced reconciliation with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and reached an agreement to liquidate the outstanding liability through quarterly payments of ₦500 million.